Policies

At Uncle Howard's, our policy is to be as straight forward as possible and to keep things as simple as possible.

Payment schedule:
Our once complicated payment policy is now quite simple: Make an initial payment of $4900.

(An additional "plans ready" payment will be required on projects more than 1500 sq. ft.) Pay the final payment when your package is ready to ship. (You are invited to come and inspect your package as we load it)

Payment method:
Credit cards are great, but they cost us a fee. For that reason, you may take a

1% reduction of the total price if you pay by wire transfer.

Payment exceptions:
When an engineer's structural wet stamp is required, expect to make a payment of 4%

of the total sale price (if not already added to the total sale price.)
When large arena trusses are needed, exptect to make a payment of 20% of the total

sale price 30 to 40 days before expected delivery.

Cancellation:

The cancellation fee is 15% of the total price.

The cancellation fee goes up to 20% of the total price if the plan has been sent in for "wet stamp"

engineering.

Customizing the plans:

We are proud to be able to customize your plans with no extra design fee. By e-mailing

ideas and sketches back and forth we will steadily develop your plan until you tell us,

Your project is a substantial undertaking. We at Uncle Howard’s will do our best to meet your schedule. Uncle Howard’s make no promises as to the exact date your plans will be ready, your permit will be approved or your package will be shipped. These dates are affected by the difficulty of your project, the design difficulty, design changes, the engineering work load, change orders, building department efficiency, work load, material delays and shipping delays. To avoid frustration please remember to allow time for these delays. Ironically, the biggest delay of all is usually the time wasted before you finally make the decision to get started.

Uncle Howard's works with several carriers to find the most cost effective shipping method for each barn kit. Shipping prices can fluctuate significantly, and are greatly affected by the price of diesel fuel. Uncle Howard's will lock in your shipping price at the time you place your order, and your final shipping cost will be shown on your order form when ready for your signature.

Long distance shipments arrive on a truck with a 40 ft. flatbed or curtain side trailer. It is the owner’s responsibility to arrange for a forklift for off-loading. Make sure the truck and trailer will clear any tight corners and obstacles or you will need to shuttle the load.

Uncle Howard’s has 39 years of building design and on-site building experience. We recognize that each builder has a slightly different way of building. Each builder is sure that “his way” is the best way. We try to work with your builder to review the plans with an eye to “his way”. If your builder is unsure about the kit's advantages, has installation questions or wants “his way” features, please feel free to have him call and discuss it with Uncle Howard.

Backorders, lumber take-off mistakes, shipping, breakage and carpenter mistakes do occur. When that happens, local purchase and material substitutions may be required.

Uncle Howard's has included a 2% contingency credit on your order form. This will cover any minor omissions. If a larger contingency should occur, Uncle Howard's will arrange the solution.

Protecting your materials from the elements, direct sunlight and rain is the owner’s responsibility. When one side of the wood is wet and the other side is dry, wood will warp or cup under direct sunlight or in a drying wind. Once installed and stained or painted it is unlikely to distort. Glulamn beams will not distort. Large timbers and log posts will sometimes show splits. This is caused by the perimeter of the timber drying and shrinking at a faster rate than the core. These splits add character and are seldom a strength issue. When tarping lumber, be sure to allow some air flow to prevent molding of the wood.

Many of Uncle Howard’s packages are intended for present or future heated space use. For these packages Uncle Howard’s will help design your package to fit the window sizes you choose. Because of variation in colors, insulation values, wind strength, and the cost of shipping glass, Uncle Howard’s does not include or ship vinyl windows. We will, however, provide framing and header material and provide you with the window dimensions we use to achieve the “classic barn look”. (Uncle Howard’s suggests recycling windows to add character and economy).

Uncle Howard’s does manufacture old style wood barn windows. These windows are for use in unheated buildings such as garages and barns. They have the old-fashioned small pane look. The plexiglass pane can be removed for ease of painting. The plexiglass can, additionally, be used as a glass pattern if you wish to convert to real glass(Remember to follow tempered glass rules about proximity to doors and stairs when converting to glass). Accessory framing materials needed to frame for windows are included in our packages. Uncle Howard’s also offers shutters for any size windows. Shutters can be used for both security and decoration. The average cost of a shutter set is approximately 70% of the window cost. Although no barn or home is safe from a determined burglar, our sliding barn doors may be used to secure your glass patio door and glass loft doors. Everyone’s idea of the best door locks vary. For that reason Uncle Howard’s does not provide door locks except for stall doors.

The standard stair width is 39" with a 36" tread and a 71/4" riser. The width of the heavy timber stair can be extended up to 6' wide because it utilizes 4"x12" timbers as treads.

We provide a standard set of cedar handrails with a handgrip rail. These may be modified on site to fit your needs. Our stair handrails are rustic and well suited for use in barns and garages but not for fine homes.

2. The less expensive standard stair, much like the house regular type stairs, which most builders install with notched 2”x12” lumber and 2"x6" treads.